REBELS CELEBRATE WIN OVER FILLMORE TO ADVANCE TO STATE SEMIFINALS

The MCC Rebel football team loaded the equipment for their longest road trip in the last four seasons. The Rebels traveled to Rochester Mayo High School to play the Fillmore Central Falcons in the state quarterfinals. The winner would get to play at US Bank Stadium on November 15th at 11:30 am. Fillmore Central was the higher seeded team coming into the game, as they were undefeated. But records don’t matter much if teams are not playing the same schedule. Friday night the better record did not perform better, as once again a team from Section 3 came out on top.

The Falcons got off to a fast start, driving down the field on their first possession of the game. But the Rebels defense stopped them at the ten yard line, forcing a turnover on downs midway through the first quarter. The Rebels would answer back led by Teague Meyer. The Falcons were ready to stop Carson Lewis who had back to back 190 yard games in the playoffs. The Falcons were prepared to take down the Rebel Fullback every time he touched the ball. Thing is, he didn’t have the ball. The Rebels faked it to Lewis and Teague Meyer dominated the game, running right, left and up the middle. Gashing the Falcon defense with big plays. Then it was Jordan Sturges with big runs and Gabe Tentinger inside the twenty yard line would come up with key runs. Teague Meyer scored the first points of the game with 26 seconds left in the first quarter on a three yard run. The extra point by Jordan Sturges was good and the Rebels led 7-0 after one quarter.

The Rebels came out strong in the second quarter. MCC forced the Falcons into a punt and stopped them on another drive. MCC would score on a Teague Meyer 59 yard touchdown run with 8:20 to play in the half as the Rebels went ahead 13-0. MCC’s extra point was missed. MCC extended their lead with 2:31 to play when Carson Lewis broke free on a 21 yard touchdown run and Jordan Sturges converted the two point conversion to make the score 21-0. Fillmore Central scored the final points of the first half when Bridon Bahl hit Cody Serfling on a 19 yard touchdown pass. The two point conversion failed. The Rebels led at the half 21 to 6. Teague Meyer ran for 152 yards and two scores in the first half.

The second half saw the Rebels drive the field on their first possession. MCC got to the 32 yardline, but came up short on a fourth down QB sneak. The Falcons turned things around and headed the other way. They lost the ball near midfield when Jordan Sturges came up with a diving interception, ending the drive. MCC once again got into Falcon territory. Carson Lewis looked to keep a play alive but it was knocked out of his hands. The Falcons’ Joseph Otto came away with the ball. The following drive saw the Falcons score their second touchdown of the game. Bahl hit Quinci Kaase on a 34 yard touchdown pass. Again, the Rebels stopped the two point conversion, making the score 21 to 12. The nine point lead proved to be huge over the final quarter. The Rebels led 21 to 12 going to the 4th.

MCC scored in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Carson Lewis, Jordan Sturges had big runs for the Rebels. Gabe Tentinger had a great catch on the sideline for the Rebels only completion, that was not on a two point conversion. Tentinger set the Rebels up with a strong run as MCC got inside the five yard line. Teague Meyer scored his third touchdown of the game on a one yard run. Sturges converted the two point conversion and the Rebels led 29 to 12. The 17 point lead meant the Falcons would need three scores to win, if they made two two point conversions after two touchdowns. The Falcons responded as good teams will. Bahl hit Kaasi on a 49 yard touchdown pass. The two point conversion would again fail and the Rebels led 29 to 18. MCC chewed up more of the clock before the Falcons could get the ball back. The Falcons were out of timeouts, but with under three minutes to play they had the ball. The Falcons drove the field, but MCC did a great job tackling the Falcons in bounds. With just over a minute to play, the Falcons drew a first down on a pass interference on the Rebels. They scored a touchdown with under a minute left and the two point conversion made the score 29 to 26. The Rebels would recover the onside kick and ended the game in victory formation winning 29 to 26.

The Rebels and the Falcons finished with similar yardage numbers in the game overall, but the Falcons’ yards came in the air and the Rebels’ came on the ground. Teague Meyer led the Rebels with 200 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Jordan Sturges had over 80 yards rushing and Lewis finished with 61 yards and a score. Gabe Tentinger had the lone catch for 15 yards, The Rebels will play at US Bank Stadium for the first time and will return to the State Semifinals for the first time since 2000. They will play Breckenridge who is undefeated on the season and has not played in a State Semi final since 2001.